


Dean’s on a Hunting Trip

by NightSkyWriter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Gen, Sam and John have to find Dean, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27600236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightSkyWriter/pseuds/NightSkyWriter
Summary: “Dean’s on a hunting trip,” Dad said, “and he hasn’t been home in a few days.”Season One AU
Relationships: Dean Winchester & John Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, John Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 15
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

Sam was such a light sleeper that it’d become a joke between him and Jess. He would wake up to the slightest creaking in the walls while Jess could probably sleep through an earthquake.

And yet the knocking – no, _banging_ – at the door was loud enough to wake even Jess.

Sam sat up reaching for a knife under his pillow that he didn’t keep there anymore. His hand closed around air.

“Sam, what’s all the noise?”

“Probably a drunk freshman at the wrong room. I’ll go check it out. Go back to sleep.”

Sam got up.

He stepped over Jess’s book bag she’d left in the floor. He padded to the door and glanced through the peephole.

And Sam saw the last person in the world he would have expected.

He quickly fumbled with the locks on the door and opened it.

“Dad?” Sam asked.

Dad pushed past Sam and into the apartment. Sam closed the door behind him.

The few years since Sam had left for college had barely aged his dad.

Sure there were new wrinkles around his eyes, but he was still wearing the same leather jacket he’d worn back when they hunted together and he held himself the same way Sam remembered.

The hunting life didn’t allow hunters to get old.

Sam was still confident that his dad could take down any member of the college’s football team – probably more than one.

But tonight he looked more tired than normal.

“I need you to come with me,” Dad said, turning around to face Sam. “Grab what you need for a few days then we leave.”

Sam raised his eyebrows a laughed. “What? No ‘hey good to see you’ or ‘how’s school’?”

“Sam—”

“No, you don’t get to just show up in the middle of the night after two years and order me to go with you without even an explanation.”

The light in the foyer turned on and Sam glanced over his shoulder.

“Sam? What’s wrong?”

“Hey, Jess.” Sam turned back to his father. “Dad, this is my girlfriend Jessica.”

“This is John?” Jessica asked. “This is your father?”

“Hi, Jessica.” Dad barely glanced at her. “It’s great to meet you, but I need to talk to my son for a second. Alone.”

“What?” Sam said, walking over to stand beside Jess. “No. Whatever you have to say, you can say to the both of us.”

John sighed and put his hands in his jacket pockets.

“Dean’s on a trip and he hasn’t been home in a few days.”

“Okay? I haven’t seen him. He doesn’t exactly stop by often.”

John tilted his head, staring at Sam. “Perhaps you didn’t hear me. Dean is on a _hunting_ trip. And he hasn’t been home in a few days.”

Sam frowned, weighing the options in his head.

“Jess, could you give us a sec?”

Sam followed Dad down the stairs. Even with the added height over his dad, he was having trouble keeping up.

“On his own? You sent him on a hunt by himself?” Sam demanded, glaring at the back of his fathers head.

“Yeah, he’s old enough. It was supposed to be just a voodoo problem down in New Orleans.”

“But on his own?”

Dad reached to open the door to outside but turned to Sam instead. “Yes. He’s 26. He knows what he’s doing. I wouldn’t have sent him otherwise.”

Dad pushed the door open, shaking his head.

He walked over to his truck.

Taking his journal out of the front seat, he turned back to Sam.

He opened it up to one of pages.

“See this? These are crop circles, cattle killings, and electrical storms all in the area Dean went.”

“Okay?”

“These signs, Sam... This is big. Dean needs our help.”

“Where are you going?” Jess asked watching Sam pack a bag.

Sam only added clothes and his laptop. Dad had any weapons they would need and probably some they wouldn’t.

“My brother—”

“Dean?”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “He needs my help.”

“Is he in trouble?”

“I don’t know. He’s out hunting with some friends. They’ve been gone to long.” Sam hated lying to her, but it was easy. His entire childhood included him lying – it was as easy as breathing.

“But your interview, Sam. You can’t miss it.”

Sam threw his bag over his shoulder and smiled.

“I’ll be back in time.”

The first hour of the trip they didn’t talk. Dad had the radio on and Sam was pretty sure it was the same cassette they’d listened to when Sam and Dean were kids.

Eventually Dad spoke up.

“Dallas or Houston?” He asked, not looking away from the road.

“What?” Sam said.

“There are two routes – one goes through Houston the other goes through Dallas. It’s a long drive. Might as well have something to look at. Which do you want?”

“Um, Dallas.”

Dad nodded and turned up the radio again. Sam instantly reached out to turn it back down.

“It’s been two years,” Sam said, looking straight ahead. “Two years and you haven’t stopped by, you haven’t called, you haven’t done anything.”

Dad didn’t show any reaction. “That’s a two way street.”

“No,” Sam turned to his father, angling his back to the door. “No, you said that if I left I wouldn’t be welcome back. You know what that means? Don’t call. You try to cut me off and then, as soon as you need me, you’re at my doorstep at three-in-the-morning.”

“The way I remember it, you said you wanted out. You wanted out of this life.”

“I do!”

Dad shot Sam a glance before looking back at the road. “I left you alone, Sam. Gave you your wish the best I could. I haven’t asked you for anything.” Dad glared through the windshield. “Besides, this isn’t for me.”

Sam shook his head and turned back so he was looking straight again.

After a moment, he reached in the glove box and took out the map.

“Do you know what we’re up against?” Sam said.

Dad nodded. “I have a pretty good idea.”

When he didn’t elaborate, Sam lowered the map to send his father a glare.

“And do you want to share with the class?”

“If you don’t get rid of that attitude—“

“You’ll what? Kick me out? Already did that. Leave me out of the hunt? You can’t. You need me.”

“I am your _father_. Act like it.”

“And I am your son.”

Usually at this point, or before, was when Dean would intervene. Try and keep the two of them from going for each other’s throats. But Dean wasn’t here.

“I’m trying to help you.” Sam shook his head. “Just tell me what you know.”

“I’ve been…following something. And I’m getting closer; I know it’s tracks. I’ve gotten close to it a few times and it knows I’m on its trail. But I didn’t check the area I sent Dean until he missed his check in. All the signs of this monster were in New Orleans. It was a trap meant for me, and I sent Dean right into it.”

Sam nodded, jaw clenched. “What is it?”

Dad sighed. “It’s a, uh, demon.”

Sam raised his eyebrows.

“Excuse me?” Sam laughed without humor. “Dad, isn’t this a bit out of our league?”

Dad nodded. “That’s why I came to get you. Dean and I are going to need back up.”

“Oh.”

They needed more people. More hunters. This wasn’t their normal gig.

Sam narrowed his eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m not playing twenty questions with you! I’ve answered your questions. Drop it.”

Sam gritted his teeth. “Fine.” He shrugged his jacket off and balled it against the door. “Wake me up when we reach Bakersfield.”

“Yeah.” Dad reached over and turned the radio lower.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam sat on the edge of the bed. It’d been fifteen minutes since Dad left to get dinner, leaving Sam with Dean’s voicemail. According to Dad, he wanted to see if Sam caught something he missed. Sam had run it through every system he knew, but he couldn’t find anything on the audio except what Dean said flat out.

Sam clicked the button, making the audio play again.

“ _Hey Dad, this is Dean. I, uh, don’t think this is a voodoo problem. I keep finding sulfur. It was at the crime scene and the victim’s house. I don’t know what would use that. I’m looking into it, but I was hoping you would know something on it. It’s been a long day so far. It’s weird – I could have sworn I saw a guy earlier with black eyes. Like, fully black. Any idea what that could be about? It could be unrelated. The guy was at a distance so I could have seen him wrong. This just doesn’t seem like a voodoo case. Call me when you get a chance.”_

The phone beeped as the voicemail ended. Sam shook his head.

Sam didn’t blame Dad. Dad was on a case and didn’t have cell reception when Dean called. He understood why Dad hadn’t answered, but if he had this could have been avoided.

Sam sighed. He clicked play on the next voicemail.

“ _Dad, we have a problem. This definitely isn’t voodoo. That guy with the black eyes I was telling you about? He thought I was you. You know anything about this? I was able to get away but this guy…this isn’t our normal gig. I don’t know what he is. I’m back at the motel. Call me.”_

The phone beeped again and Sam shut the phone. He wasn’t getting anywhere with this.

Everything Dean said, he and Dad already knew. At least Dean mentioned he’d gone to the victim’s house. That gave him and Dad a place to start.

Sam loosened his tie once he got back to the motel.

The family of the victim, Thomas Lout, hadn’t known much – or at least if they did, they weren’t sharing. According to them, Lout didn’t have any enemies and hadn’t shown any signs of stress leading up to his organs exploding. That was probably stressful.

After they’d talked to the family, he’d told his Dad that he would go back to the room and see if he could find anything on the internet. Dad preferred to do it the old fashion way. Dad went out to talk to more people, see if anyone had seen anything.

The family’s story was the same as most of the stories Sam had heard while hunting. After people died, no one wanted to talk about their drama anymore. According to most of the families and friends, the victim had been loved by everyone. That wasn’t ever true.

The only thing they got out of the house call was Dad found sulfur on the window sill while Sam talked to the family. They’d run the normal routine. Dad search the house as discreetly as possible while Sam talked with the family and attempted to keep them distracted from Dad.

It was simple, but it worked.

Sulfur, like Dean said. According to Dad, demons left it behind. That pretty effectively ruled out voodoo.

Sam took his computer out, and set it up on the only table in the room.

The guy that was killed didn’t seem remarkable. According to Dad, the guy was probably killed just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The demons just needed a story big and weird enough to get John here, but they got Dean instead.

Sam turned his attention to his computer. He checked all of the tabs he’d left out.

There hadn’t been any hits from the nearby police on a siting of Dean in any of the surrounding counties.

Sam checked another website as his phone started ringing. Sam answered it and held the phone to his ear with his shoulder while continuing to check the tabs he had up for any sign of Dean.

“Yeah?” Sam asked, scanning the page.

“Hey, Sammy.”

Sam dropped the phone before scrambling to pick it up again.

“Dean?”

“I need your help Sam.” Dean sounded out of breath.

“Dean, where are you?”

“I’m on a case in New Orleans.”

“Yeah, I know that part.” Sam balanced the phone between his ear and shoulder again and pulled up the phone tracking website he’d been trying to find Dean with. Every time he’d tried so far Dean’s phone hadn’t been turned on. “Dad and I have been looking for you. Where are you? Do you have an address?”

“You and Dad?”

“Focus, Dean. Address?”

Judging by the speed by which Dad was back at the motel, Sam doubted he had abided by traffic laws. Dad leaned across the console and threw the passenger door of the truck open.

Sam ran for the truck and jumped in, narrowly keeping his head from hitting the top of the truck. Dad had started driving again before Sam had his door fully shut.

“Directions, Sam. Which way do I turn?”

Sam pulled the map out of the glovebox and nearly tore it in his rush.

“Left,” Sam said. He’d marked the spot where Dean’s phone was before he left the hotel. He hadn’t been able to get Dean to give him an address before Dean had stopped replying, phone still on.

Sam had called Dad on the hotel phone so that he wouldn’t have to hang up on Dean. He just hoped Dean would stay where he was long enough for them to find him.

Dad was focused on the road, the speedometer inching higher and higher.

“Turn right on the next street.”

Dad barely slowed down for the turn.

“How far are we?”

“Five minutes out.”

Dad turned his attention from the road for a split second to direct Sam’s attention to the duffel bag between them.

“The bag has four bottles of holy water. I’ll take two, you take two. When we find Dean, get back to the truck. And be sure to make sure he isn’t possessed. Throw the water on him and see if he reacts.”

“How would he react if he is possessed?”

“You’ll know.”

Sam didn’t like the vagueness of the answer, but, for once, he wasn’t in the mood to argue.

“Take the next right.”

Sam turned his attention to the bag and started taking out the holy water. He decided to just carry his, and let Dad have the bag.

“That place on the left,” Sam said, pointing it out.

Dad pulled into the parking lot. There were only a few cars. Sam counted seven.

It was a church.

The map didn’t have it listed so Sam assumed it was new.

“You go around the back, I’ll take the front,” Dad said.

Sam nodded and stepped out of the truck.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you liked it, please leave a kudos! Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome ❤️


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